Theories on crime 4/6/10 Flashcards
A. Cohen subcultural theory
Argues that delinquent behaviour is most likely to develop among w/c boys who do badly at school. They realise they cannot achieve success through ed as their w/c values are diff to the m/c values promoted by the ed system and will therefore be at the bottom of the official status hierarchy. Aar, they suffer status frustration - the anger felt because their aspirations are blocked. Therefore in order to achieve success and status, they form subcultures with other boys who are like them. The s/c inverts the mainstream values and therefore offers its members an illegitimate opportunity structure through which they can achieve status.
Durkheim states that society is based on value consensus - shared norms and values and this creates ss.. To achieve this society has 2 mechanisms.
Socialisation - primary and secondary- through which society’s members learn the norms and values of their society
Social control -a system through which society ensures everyone abides by the norms and values through rewards and sanctions
Durkheim states crime is 3 things
Inevitable- will always exist, it can be reduced but not eliminated
Universal - it’ll exist in every society because everyone is effectively socialised so they tend to deviate.
Functional - a certain amount of crime can benefit society bc the experience of crime can strengthen social bonds
2 vital functions durkheim states crime performs for society
it reaffirms the boundaries of acceptable behaviour - every time a person breaks the law and is taken the court, the publicity of this reaffirms the existing values.
It can lead to social adaption and change by changing values
3 functions of crime
It maintains social cohesion (durkheim) - when particularly horrific crimes have been committed, the community draws together and the sense of belonging to a community is then strengthened
It can provide a safety valve(davies) deviance can provide a relatively harmless expression dissatisfaction
to act as a warning device - A. Cohen- to show that society is malfunctioning
3 evaluation of durkheim
fails to explain what causes crime
doesn’t explain why certain people are more likely to commit crime than others
fails to see that crime can be dysfunctional for some groups
Merton - strain theory
crime exists because everyone shares the same goals in life but not everyone can achieve their goal through legitimate means - in the USA the American dream is shared by all members of society, but not all have the legit. means to achieve it. they then turn to illeg. means to achieve that goal Re-defined Durkheim’s concept of anomie to mean a reaction to to socially approved goals are impossible for the majority to achieve through legit. means. This results in a strain between people’s ambitions and their ability to ahcieve them legitim. so they turn to illegit. means to achieve their goals. Therefore people are under pressure to achieve their goals an Merton calls this strain to anomie.
People can react to the pressure to achieve the American Dream in
five ways, some of which are legitimate, some are deviant and others
are criminal: name 3
- conformity - majority - legit ways to achieve
- innovation -illegal means to achieve the American dream
- Retreatism - giving up on the AD and turning to alcohol or drugs
3criticisms of Merton
Takes OCS atface value e.g that the wc are more criminal
doesnt explain why most members of the w/c dont break the law
fails to explain non-ut crimes such as vandalism
3 criticisms of A cohen
Assumes value consensus
ignores female crimes
assumes all sc’s offer the same illegitimate opp structures
Right realism
New right theory on crime
RR theory on crime argues what
criminals chose to break the law
those who are badly socialised are more likely to break the law as humans are naturally greedy and selfish
therefore , crime is inevitable, it can only be reduced not eradicated
therefore, the role of the gov is tot punish the criminals , not to eradicate the mythical causes of crime.
according to Right Realism what is the 3 causes of crime
biological differences
poor socialisation and underclass values
rational choice
explain the development of the underclass and inadequate socialisation theory of the causeof crime according to rr
Murray argues that crime rate is increasing bc of the growing underclass which is increasing a s a result of welfare dependency. Dependency culture has led to a decline in marriage and increase in single mothers living on benefits . This means that men don’t have to take responsibility for their children, thus have no reason to work. The single mothers can’t socialise their children properly and the the lack of a male positive role model is particularly damaging to boys who lack discipline. Aar, these children cause much of the delinquent behaviour as they turn to neg role models who gain status through criminality rather than hard work.
Rational choice theory (RR causes of crime)
Rational choice theory sees individuals as having free will/ Clarke argues that the decision to commit crime is a choice based on rational calculation of the likely consequence. If the perceived reward is greater than the possible cost of the crime, people are more likely to break the law. Clarke argues the rise in crime has been caused by the perceived costs of crime being low for the offenders. Felson argues, that for a crime to occur there needs to be a motivated offender, a suitable target and the absence of a capable guardian. In such instances offenders act rationally and commit a crime as the chance of getting caught is low.
3 weakness’ of RR causes of crime theories
ignores wider structures causes of crime such as poverty
Fails to explain non-u crimes such as vandalism as well as crimes util. crimes
Overemphasises biological factors in causing crime
Traditional Marxism argues society’s infrastructure determines its superstructure, which includes the state and the CJS. Their function is to serve r/c interests and maintain capitalism. Explain 3 ways in which they do this
1 The powerful, or r/c, dictate what constitutes crime and deviance through their control of the legislative process
2 The crimes of the powerful aren’t dealt as severely as those of the most deprived and exploited groups such as the unemployed
3 The law is disproportionately enforced against w/c and that therefore the OCS are inaccurate
what causes crime according to trad marxists?
Capitalism causes crime bc its criminogenic -it causes crime by its very nature.
According to Trad Marxists both the w/c and r/c break the law explain 3 ways in which the w/c can be led into crime by capitalism
Poverty - can lead them into crime as it can be the only way for them to survive
Capitalism is based on consumerism and materialism . Crime can be the only means through which people can obtain the products promoted by capitalism through advertising
The works are exploited which makes them feel alienated. This can lead to feelings of frustration which can result in aggression and non-util crimes such as vandalism.
According to Trad Marxists both the w/c and r/c break the law explain 1 ways in which the r/c can be led into crime by capitalism
Capitalism encourages a ‘dog-eat-dog’ ruthless competition. Aar, the r/c commit white collar and corporate crimes such as tax evasion.
The purpose of the law according to TM is to serve the interests of the r/c, it does so in which 3 ways?
The r/c can use their influence to direct the types of laws to be introduced as well as to prevent certain laws from being introduced
According to Reiman, the law is enforced selectively by the CJS as the police target w/c crimes and ignore the crimes of the powerful. This makes crime appear to be a w/c phenomenon thus turning wc members against each other and distracting them from the real cause of their suffering - capitalism.
Helps maintan FCC. E,g occasionally laws are passed on which seem to benefit the w.c however Pearce argues that such laws actually benefit the r/c , e.g. by keeping the works fit for work
3 evaluation of TM
DETERMINISTIC - tend to view the behaviour of individuals as largely governed by external forces
Marxists do not fully explain why many wc people do not commit crime
Not all capitalist societies have high crime rates, e.g Japan
New criminology - why do people commit crime?
Crime is a conscious choice by the wc to redistribute the wealth from the rich to the poor (Taylor et al sees crime as positive as its pro-revolutionary)
3 criticisms of New criminology
ignores the effects of crime on the victims
Burke claims their positive view of crime doesn’t help us tackle or reduce crime rates
Feminists accuse Taylor et al of being gender blind -ignoring female crime